


we are not just graffiti (on a passing train)

by stardustgirl



Series: Mistborn AU [4]
Category: Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, Angst, Beating, Child Abuse, Child Death, Death, Disrespect for the dead, Graphic Description of Corpses, Heavy Angst, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury, Major Character Injury, Mistborn, Mistborn AU, Rated For Violence, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 02:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: Alternate ending to Kanan and Ezra's first meeting in the Mistborn AU.





	we are not just graffiti (on a passing train)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fireynovacat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireynovacat/gifts).



> Title from "Levitate" by Twenty-One Pilots.
> 
> TW: Check the tags.

The boy’s leg is twisted at an unnatural angle.

So is his right arm.  His left arm.

And his head.

Pryce stares down at him, impassive.  The boy could not handle even a simple _beating_ now?  He nudges his side with a foot.  “Get up.”

He doesn’t move.

Pryce nudges him again, harder.  “Get up, boy, before I feed you to the dogs.”

Still, no movement.

Sighing, he steps on the boy’s unbroken hand with the heel of his boot, ignoring the vaguely sickening crunch of the bones underneath as he applies pressure.  When that elicits no results, he steps off of the limb, he frowns, crouching to place two fingers against the boy’s neck. He feels for several seconds but can’t find a pulse.  He rises, grasping the boy by his shirt collar and pulling him up as he does so. He still doesn’t respond.

He reaches for one of the boy’s glass daggers, frowning when he only sees one.  A quick scan of the room reveals the other is several meters away, where the boy had first fallen to his knees before trying to reach the wall.  He never made it there, anyway.

He holds the dagger under the boy’s nose, checking for breath.  He waits a full minute before sighing in disgust, dropping the boy’s corpse.  He drops the knife as well, kicking it across the room to clink against its sister.  Pryce starts to turn but finds himself pausing, crouching by the boy again. He pulls his shirt slightly, only enough to reveal the small, wooden flower on a leather cord.  He pulls his own knife, cutting the cord easily before rising and pocketing it. He could give it to Arihnda, possibly. Tell her he got it from one of the various artisans in Luthadel.

She doesn’t need to know it’s from Mira, or from her son’s corpse.

* * *

Kanan enters the Ghost, ducking under the low doorframe and blinking as he sees Sabine’s candle.  He stops burning tin at the sight of it, not wanting to deal with a blindfold as he approaches and sits opposite her.

“Where are the others?”

“Around.”  SeeOne hops on the table, sitting in the direct center and cleaning himself with a wet paw.  “Hera’s talking to someone. Zeb’s...do we really _care?_ ”

“Of course we do,” Sabine mutters, rolling her eyes as she stands and moves to take SeeOne down.  He turns and shoots her a glare, tail and ear twitching.

“ _Don’t._ ”

“Then be _nice._ ”  They hold each other’s gazes for a moment longer before SeeOne returns to cleaning himself and Sabine sits.  Kanan clears his throat, drawing at least Sabine’s attention back to him.

“How’d the raid go?” she asks.

“Good.  Got enough supplies we should be good for a while now.  Shouldn’t need to raid for another few months.”

“If you can keep Zeb from eating it all in an hour,” SeeOne drawls, ear flicking as he wets his paw again.

“ _SeeOne…._ ”

“What?  My contract doesn’t say I can’t share my opinions.”  The kandra lowers his paw, turning to face Kanan. “And share them I shall.”

“Ignore him.  He’s been like this since Hera left earlier,” Sabine sighs.

“Are you implying I don’t already?” Kanan asks, fighting a grin.  She simply shrugs, smirking.

“You were worried.  When you first sat down.”  Sabine’s mouth twists into a frown as she cuts to the chase.  “I could tell.”

He offers a heavy sigh up to the silence, rubbing his forehead as he finally sets down the bag of valuables.  “You remember how I told you the Pryces had a Mistborn?”

Her eyes narrow.  “ _Had._  You told me he fell.”

“And survived.  I could- I could still feel his emotions.  Not strongly, but. He survived. He was there when I finished the raid, too.”

“And _what,_ exactly, does this have to do with us?” SeeOne interrupts.

“I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“So?”

“I don’t see why that’s a bad thing,” SeeOne adds.  “It’s not like you would _want_ him to be there, correct?”

“I don’t, it’s just...I dunno.  Something...something feels _off._ ”

The door opens and Kanan glances over, burning tin for less than a second, just long enough to differentiate Hera’s silhouette from the entryway.  She closes the door behind her, pulling a hood off and shaking out her hair. “What did I miss?”

“They are discussing the Pryce Mistborn, though I am unable to tell _why_ they view that as a valid topic of conversation,” the kandra drawls.  Hera sits to Kanan’s right, rolling her eyes.

“It’s for...for logistics purposes,” Sabine offers.

“He’s dead.  SeeOne has a point.  There _isn’t_ any reason to discuss him.”  Kanan jolts in surprise, frowning.

“How?” he asks after a long minute of silence.

Hera shrugs.  “I don’t know, not exactly.  All I know is what my Pryce contact told me.”

“Which was…?”

“She said some of the other skaa were called to clean up something in Pryce’s office.  Supposedly, it was a corpse. The Mistborn’s.” A chill runs down his arms. It takes him a moment before he’s able to speak again.

“Were they able to tell how he- how he died?”

“She said one of them told her there was extensive bruising, and that the limbs were at odd angles.”  Hera shrugs again, pulling her gloves off. “I’d guess a beating. From what she said, he wasn’t even a noble.  But he was apparently still extremely loyal.” She meets Kanan’s gaze again, dark brows furrowed slightly. “Why do you care?”

“I just...I met him, the one time.  I...can I talk to your contact? The Pryce one.”

She holds his gaze longer before dropping it, returning her attention to the gloves as she folds them neatly.  “No, no you can’t.

“She’s dead.”

**Author's Note:**

> So on the Rebels Discord, fireynovacat and I were discussing alternate endings in the Mistborn AU, and this happened....


End file.
